Is there a way to plot gradients with the Hidden Visual Style?

[CadCraig]

I am trying to plot some drawings that contain platforms with equipment on top of them. Normally we would use a hatch, but that tends to make the drawings too busy so we are trying to use a light gray gradient instead, to shade the platform rather than show a representation of the grating. The problem is, we plot all of our drawings in the Hidden Visual Style, and gradients don't plot when you use that style. Is there a setting or a system variable I can use to allow for the printing of gradients in Hidden style? Or is there a variable that I can edit within the style that would allow this?

The gradient is on the model itself. This way I do not have to draw a pline around the equipment in order to shade around it in paper space, which is time consuming. We do the same with hatches. We are using Acad2010.

[cadtag]

why not use a solid hatch, set to a light TrueColor value?

[CadCraig]

Well.....I thought you had it, but it treats a solid hatch just like a gradient. I know I can get it to print if I use "as displayed" instead of "hidden" in the Shade plot option box, but the problem is, I need to both show the solid hatch/gradient and use the hidden line option! Is there any way to do this?

[jaberwok]

Are you actually talking about Visual Style or Shadeplot?
Solid models or 2d geometry?

Not that I see a simple solution in any case.

[CadCraig]

Shade plot.....but I thought shade plot got its parameters from the visual style. I tried adjusting the settings on the visual style, but I could only get the gradient to show up if I set it so all surfaces were shaded.

I am using solid models, with a gradient on the top surface of the platforms, so only the platforms will be shaded in the plot. Looks like I'll have to go back to putting the gradients on my layout and tracing the equipment with polylines to use as borders. Time consuming but it does the job.

[jaberwok]

Shade plot.....but I thought shade plot got its parameters from the visual style. I tried adjusting the settings on the visual style, but I could only get the gradient to show up if I set it so all surfaces were shaded.

I am using solid models, with a gradient on the top surface of the platforms, so only the platforms will be shaded in the plot. Looks like I'll have to go back to putting the gradients on my layout and tracing the equipment with polylines to use as borders. Time consuming but it does the job.

Yeah. Sometimes the old ways are the only ways.